The loss of basic decency

[democrank]

Decency has vanished in Donald Trump’s world. Use it or lose it....so it’s gone. By Trump’s choice, it isn’t even a consideration. In fact, the absolute lack of standards is the fuel for Trump’s engine and about half the United States Congress has chosen to supply that fuel. Our country’s Constitution is ignored as easily as truth on Fox News.

Think about the word “statesman” and try to match a current Republican face to it. Try to point to a single Republican example of party being less important than country, of decency being more important than power.

Look at how willingly Republicans do Trump’s bidding. They have corrupted the standards of decency to the point that children being kept in cages is barely newsworthy now and people of color being cheated of the right to vote is part of normal Republican operating procedures. Lindsey Graham trails after Donald Trump like a dog in heat while Susan Collins practices using her “concerned” frown like it was a stage prop. War criminals are now guests of honor and the law can be broken at Trump’s direction. Just a nod in the affirmative is all it takes.

At this very moment, the only reason I’d want to “reach across the aisle” would be to put some handcuffs to use.

[secondwind]

1. Well said, democrank. Thank you!

[samplegirl]

2. Your right

and it’s even worse than the Bush years. Who would of thought anything could be worse than those insufferable years?

[Mister Ed]

3. You've put your finger on the problem, for certain.

The abandonment of decency is at the very core of Trump's America. His followers revel in it.

They claimed they would "Make America Great", but they are making our beloved nation into a cesspool of pettiness, ignorance, and cruelty.

Only the good can be great. We now struggle to make America good again.

[leftyladyfrommo]

13. And horrible language. nt

[calimary]

17. "Make America Gross."

And/Or “Make America Grate.”

Of course, considering the “intellect” of some trump-humpers, I doubt they’d recognize the difference of that second one.

[blm]

4. Trump has corrupted those around him his entire life.

[crazytown]

5. He eats the soul,

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071141/

[Perseus]

7. I think that what "eats the soul" is the lack of opposition, lack of accountability they face

Why are we in this precarious situation that so little can be done to oppose these crooks' actions? I believe that is what eats our souls, it is desperation, it is the fact that they are still there when so many should be in jail, and some even tried for treason. All we do day after day is read more about their crimes, but we don't see anyone in jail, besides those from the Muller investigation. Stephen Miller should be in jail, Barr should be disbarred then put in jail, etc.

If you meant that trump ate his minions souls? I don't think these people ever had souls, morals, principles, they have always been there ready to take, never to give, ready to hate, never to love anyone but money and power.

I want so much for these people to pay for their crimes, and their treason. I am still optimistic they will.

[Perseus]

6. I love your last paragraph, should be made into a bumper sticker

We can only hope all these traitors will get handcuffed sometime in the near future.

[Botany]

8. You can't be for Trump and for America at the same time.

They are mutually exclusive. End of story. "They" all know that Trump was installed by
Vlad Putin and a dirty voting system and "they" just don't care.

[Timmygoat]

9. One thing (out of many)

That makes my blood boil, when Trump casually says send the troops somewhere, is the fact that he has two idiot sons who love to
pose with guns, and usually dead animals, sometimes endangered species.
If these idiots want to show how much of a marksman they are why don't they join the military.

[bullwinkle428]

10. Being "the biggest asshole you can be" has become America's most

popular participation sport in the minds of a certain percentage of people in this country. These are the ones that raucously cheer everything he says and does.

[dlk]

11. You are exactly right

[Maxheader]

12. Can you trust approximately 30%..

of the people in this country that switch their allegiance from
people of integrity to people without? Over the years how the
republicuns have bashed the liberals when they had the prezidency..!!
For all the crimes stumpy has committed...lies, assault, defamation
of the constitution...and on and on.... the winger bastards...

[Cosmocat]

14. It is them, but is is also the "middle" 30% or so

that enable the full on fascist 30% with their bothsiderism ...

Dems are not great, but one their worst day they are 1,000,000 times better than what Rs are at this point, but Rs get a pass because their jackassery is the norm for them, while Dems get held to account for THEIR bad behavior more than they are.

[calimary]

18. That's because our side of the aisle believes in accountability

across the board, including within our own ranks. Look how many of ‘em piles on Bill Clinton for the Monica thing. And in the long view of history, impeaching him for that is coming to be regarded as an anthill compared to Mt. Rainier.

I’ve even heard speculation from voices (plural) on the air that maybe Clinton’s offenses didn’t really merit that ferocious a response. Especially in comparison to the level of flagrant lawlessness and outright shitting on the Constitution of the United States that we see from trump ‘n’ comp on a daily basis.

[Maxheader]

21. Conservatives know nothing when comparing issues..

in a proportional manner..ask them about bush lieing that iraq was developing wmd..nukes...Which is the reason why we lost 3500 american soldiers...uncountable collateral damage...ask them that and they will explode that clinton lied about having sex....

[calimary]

23. And that's all they've got. He lied about sex.

Which suggests some on that side have hangups about sex, perversion, voyeurism, and other busybody sleaze.

Gee, I’m surprised they aren’t all moonlighting for the Enquirer or some such.

He lied about sex with a consenting adult. Asshole. It was a peccadillo. Had NOTHING to do with severely compromising national security for personal gain. But, come to think of it, one could say sex has come to be a big part of things with the GOP. After all, THEIR dear leader is in bed with the Russians.

[Still In Wisconsin]

15. The closest the Republicans can come to having a statesman is Mitt Romney.

Yes, good old Mitt...and THAT is saying something.

[calimary]

19. Romney is freakin' pathetic.

And that’s the “best” they’ve got.

Hell, that’s basically ALL they’ve got.

[Still In Wisconsin]

20. Any so-called "moderate" republicans were either primaried out back in the Tea Party days or

else they lost at some point to a democrat. I suppose some might point to pearl-clutching Susan Collins, but I expect the Mainers will throw her out with the trash this coming November.

On edit: I guess John McCain was in many ways a moderate Republican.

[angrychair]

16. To be plain

Republicans were like this before trump.

McConnell pissed on Democrats at literally every opportunity. Denied Obama his constitutional right to nominate judges, even refusing to vote on a USSC.

The list of things done to people like Obama and Clinton by Republicans is a very long one.

Republicans literally voted to send actual indicted criminals to Congress. Not to mention overt white nationalists.

This isn't even getting into Bush era Republicans. From "freedom fries" to lies to drive us to war, it was a horror show.

Republicans have been off their rockets for decades now.

Is this more overt? Maybe.
Is this this more unhinged? I think so.

But it is still completely Republican.

[Skittles]

22. oh yes

I mentioned to a MAGAt coworker I had sent a couple of donations to Australia because of their fire crisis - he said, yeah, I would help them but I would not help California - they deserved the fires.

in-fucking-believable

[calimary]

24. Pathetic. Anything that fucks the ecosystem will hurt the MAGAts, too.

They just don’t have the guts or the character to face facts. REAL facts. Not those funky pretend “alternative facts.”

Their bubble world will not insulate them from what’s coming.

[Skittles]

27. yup

by the way, I sent a donation to California last year, too......I received a wonderful letter from them letting me know how they used my donation

[calimary]

29. Thank you, Skittles.

[pecosbob]

25. $$$ is more powerful than decency (at least to all appearances these days)

[rampartc]

26. what we call "common decency" they deride as "political correctness"

and they adore trump for having none.

[TEB]

28. Well said friend

[Kid Berwyn]

30. The guy blew up a bunch of people just to divert the news cycle from impeachment.

Murderers and their co-conspirators accessories are incapable of decency.